Matt Botwood Photography

Menu

The small village of Penwyllt was once a thriving centre for quicklime production, with extensive quarries and lime kilns, but now seems to be little more than a ghost town. With the arrival of the railway in the late 19th century the quarry products were transported all the way to the docks at Neath. However, the industry delined as it became uncompetitive and most of the commercial properties and houses were demolished in the 1980s as they decayed beyond economic repair. The disused railway station remains although the tracks have long gone (on the left of the picture) along with the quarry (right), which has been worked sporadically over the last few decades. Most of the remaining buildings in the village are now used by caving clubs, who frequent the extensive Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system below ground.